Rail-clamp.



J. TVMCCONNELL.

RAIL CLAMP.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.27. I916.

1,223,992. Patented Apr; 24, 1917.

lUNltTD @TATES FATFQN T @FFT CE.

JOHN THOMAS MGCONNELL, OF WICI-IITA, KANSAS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALE TOJAMES H. NE'W'ELL, OF WICHITA, KANSAS.

BAIL-CLAMP.

Application filed December 27, 1916.

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that 1, JOHN THOMAS Mo- CoNNnLL, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Wichita, in the county of Sedgwick and State ofKansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in RaihClamps;and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to railway rail clamping devices, and has for itsobject the provision of a clamp that will accommodate ties of differentwidths, will admit of a rail being conveniently and expeditiouslyclamped, can be cheaply manufactured and will be durable and eflicientin operation. I

Other objects will appear and be better understood from that embodimentof my in vention of which the following is a speci flcation, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, in which:

Figure 1 is a detail side view of one end of a railway tie, with a railsection thereon, and showing the improved clamping device in operativeposition.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of one end of one section of theclamping device detached from operative position, and

Fig. 4: is a section taken on the line 4.L of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the letter A designates a railwaytie, and B a rail section resting on the tie.- The clamping device forthe rail section is formed of sections, designated 1. The sectionsforming the rail clamping device lie, respectively, on opposite sides ofthe tie and each includes a bar 2 that extends parallel with the tie andis located at one side of the tie and extends beneath the base flange ofthe rail B, as shown more particularly in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings.Each bar 2 is provided with a pair of substantially L-shaped flanges 3,which overlie the upper side of the tie A, and are located,respectively, at the opposite ends of the bar 2, and the respective.flanges of each pair lie on opposite sides of the base flange of therail B. The flanges 3 are disposed above the planes of the bars 2, andeach flange has the short arm thereof terminally secured to the upperSpecification of Letters Patent.

When the sections 1, ofthe Patented Apr. 241i, 191?.

Serial no. 132,091.

side of the adjacent end of the adjacent bar 2, and the long arm of theflange is extended at an acute angle to the short arm and has the otherend thereof integrally secured to the upper side of the adjacent bar, asshown more particularly in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The outer side of thelong arm of each flange 3 is provided with a plurality of shoulders 6,arranged in echelon, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and are provided withopenings 7, that extend transversely through the shoul ders and the longof the flange 3. The openings 7 in the long arms or the flanges on onebar 2 register with the openings in the long arms of the flanges on theother bar 2, and the long arms of the flanges 3 on one bar 2 are adaptedto be connected to the long arms of the flanges 3 on the other bar 2 bymeans of connecting rods 8 that are adapted to be received by anyrespective openings in the opposed long arms of the flanges 3. When thefastening device is associated with a tie having a minimum width, theconnecting rods 8 are received by the openings 7, which are locatedadjacent the inner terminals of the long arms of the opposed flanges 3,as shown in Fig. 2. When the fastening device is to be mounted on a tieof greater width, the connecting rods 8 are received by certain otheropposed openings 7 that are located nearer the center of the opposedlong arms of the flanges 3. Each of the connecting rods 8 has one endprovided with a head 9, which engages the outer side of the long arm ofone of the opposed flanges 3, and the other end of the rod is threaded,andhas a nut 10 turned thereon and adjusted against the outer side ofthe long arm of the other opposed flange. clamping device, have beenpositioned on a tie, the connecting rods 8 are inserted through certainof the opposed openings in the long arms of the opposed flanges, whichwill admit of the threaded ends of the rods being sufficiently exposedto accommodate the nuts 10. The nuts 10 are then turned on the rods 8and adjusted against the adjacent long arms of the opposed flanges 3, soas to cause the bars 2 or the sections 1 to tightly clamp the tie bodyA. The bars 2 of the respective clamping sections 1 are provided withpointed prongs formed integral with the inner surfaces of the rods, andwhich are adapted to be driven into the respective sides of the tie bodyA. The outer sides of the projections 12, which are located at pointsopposite the prongs 11, so as to provide surfaces for receiving theimpact of a suitable tool during the operation of forcing the prongsinto the tie, thereby preventing injury being done to the bars 2.

The inner ends of the long arms of the opposing flanges 3 are providedwith inclined opening 13, and mounted within re cesses in said openingsare nuts 14L, which have their bores registering with the openings 13.Screws 15 are received by the openings 13 and threadedly received by thebores ot' the nuts 14, and are adapted to have their lower ends adjustedagainst the base flange of the rail B, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of thedrawings, so as to prevent rising or creeping of the rails.

It is evidentthat various changes might be resorted to in theconstruction, form and arrangement of the several parts withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new, is:

1. A rail clamp formed of a pair of clamping sections, each sectionconsisting of a bar adapted to engage one side of a rail tie and toextend beneath the base flange of a rail, and a pair of L-shaped flangescarried by the bar and adapted to overlie the upper side of the tie andto lie, respectively, on opposite sides'of the base flange of the rail,the said L-shaped flanges each having the long arms thereof providedwith a plurality of openings, the flanges on one bar opposing theflanges on the other bar, rail-engaging means carried by the flanges,and rods connecting the opposed flanges to each other and adapted .to bereceived by the openings in the long arms of the opposed flanges, forthe purpose specified.

2. A rail clamp formed of a pair of sections, each section consisting ofa bar adapted to engage one side of a rail tie, flanges carried by thebar and adapted to overlie the upper side of the tie and to lie,respectively, on opposite sides of the base flange of a rail, theflanges On one bar opposing the flanges on the other bar, means forconnecting the opposed flanges to each other, and rail-engaging meansadj ustably associated with the flanges.

8. A rail clamp formed of a pair of sections, each section includingL-shaped flanges adapted to overlie the upper side of the rail tie, theflanges on one section opposing the flanges on the other section, andeach flange having the outer side of the long arm thereof provided witha plurality of shoulders arranged in echelon, the said long arms havingopenings therein extending transversely through the arms and theshoulders, rods connecting the opposed flanges and adapted to bereceived by the openings in the long arms of the opposing flanges, andrail-engaging means carried by the long arms of the flanges.

4:. A rail clamp formed of a pair of clamping sections, each sectionconsisting of a bar adapted to engage One side of a rail ti and toextend beneath the base flange of a rail, means for connecting the barto the tie, flanges carried by the bars and adapted to overlie the upperside of the rail tie, and rail-engaging means adjustably associated withthe flanges.

5. A rail clamp formed of a pair ofclamping sections, each sectionconsisting of a bar adapted to engage one side of a rail tie and havingrail tie-engaging prongs formed integral with the inner side thereof,means carried by the bars for engaging over the rail'tie, rail-engagingmeans carried by the first-mentioned means, and lateral extensionsformed on the outer sides of the bars and located at points opposite theprongs, for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN THOMAS MOCONNELL. Witnesses G. M. MARTIN, M. T. ANDERsoN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

